According to data provided by analytics firm CryptoQuant, the Coinbase Premium Index (CPI) logged a sharp drop on Tuesday after the U.S. stock market open.
This could potentially indicate a substantial outflow from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The Coinbase premium is often treated as a sign of retail demand in the U.S. A negative premium shows that there is potentially strong selling pressure.
Arman ShirinyanWorrying ETF outflows
Between Feb. 10 and Feb. 14, a total of $651.83 million was withdrawn from spot Bitcoin ETFs, which might indicate waning interest in the short term.
The institutional adoption of Bitcoin ETFs tripled in the fourth quarter to a whopping $38 billion. This shows that sophisticated investors are becoming increasingly important.
In fact, leading ETF analyst Eric Balchunas believes that institutions will have a 40% share of the total assets in the future, which would be similar to gold ETFs.
However, there was also a lot of selling under the surface, with the top 25 funds liquidating roughly 19K BTC in Q4, according to Sam Baker, research analyst at River.
In the meantime, banking giant JPMorgan has included Bitcoin in its quarterly guide. Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley has opined that banks will be a "major catalyst" for the crypto space.
Bitcoin's anemic price action
Bitcoin is currently trading at $94,239 after dropping to an intraday low of $93,434. The leading cryptocurrency has been struggling to reclaim the pivotal $100,000 level.
The leading cryptocurrency is down 13.4% from its current all-time high of $108,786 which was achieved 29 days ago.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov